Sep 20 Grant family confirms toxicology report: Young man's death was not caused by any use of narcotics

Earlier today the family of Alexander Grant – the 19-year-old Boston College student found dead in Putnam Creek earlier this year – released a statement confirming that, according to the final autopsy and toxicology report, Grant was not on any narcotics the night he died.

On March 5 Grant attended a party at 146 Church Street while visiting friends at Skidmore College. Reports say Grant was last seen at the party at 11:30 p.m., about an hour before the Saratoga Springs Police Department arrived in response to a noise complaint.

Grant was found dead in Putnam Creek on March 8.

Video surveillance footage taken at 1:15 a.m. inside a medical office building at 3 Care Lane shows Grant breaking in through a small window and cutting his Achilles tendon on the glass on his way inside.

He appeared to be disoriented at the time of the break in, wearing only a t-shirt, boxer shorts and one sock. After spending a short time in the building he left through the front door.

His body was found in the creek only a few hundred yards away from the medical facility.

Officials had hoped the toxicology report would shed some light on Grant's behavior the night of his death, but now, six months later, his friends and family are still without answers.

"…The autopsy results fail to answer key questions as to how the young man we loved so much could have sustained the state of disorientation that characterized his last few hours on this earth," his family said in a letter to the Saratoga Springs Police Department.

The statement went on to thank SSPD for its dedication to the search for their son and also thanked the Medical Examiner and the District Attorney, Jim Murphy III.

"It is our impression that extra recourses and focus were required on their part to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the report, and we want them to know we are grateful for these exertions," the letter said.

Despite the Grant family's gratitude, they also expressed their frustration with the lack of information made available to them regarding their son's death. "We remain disappointed and disheartened that some of the people involved in this tragedy have not come forward with the information necessary for us to understand what happened to Alex on the night of March 5, 2011," they said in their letter.

They ask that anyone who may have information about Grant's last night come forward to either them or SSPD.

Lieutentant Veitch of SSPD said that although SSPD has the toxicology report, they are not yet ready to comment on it.

Since Grant's passing the family has established the Alexander Maxwell Grant Foundation to advance "the deep philosophy and spirit" of Grant, a pianist and cellist. A 5K run next month at Boston College will benefit the organization, which can be found online at alexgrant.org.

This past month Skidmore College welcomed Elizabeth Kolbert, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History back to campus. Sponsored by the the Saratoga Springs Public Library, the Gannett auditorium was nearly full with an overwhelming majority of older members of the community, along with a smattering of Skidmore students and faculty.

It is an important time for seniors, as well as other upperclassmen who will soon enter their final year at Skidmore, to begin considering the value of consistently supporting the college after graduation.

Get to know Drobakid, a student band that mixes the lyricism of timeless folk music with new-wave sounds inspired by great psychedelic bands. They talk candidly about nerves, music, and each other. Check out some of the tunes they mention here at Drobakid.bandcamp.com.

On April 8, Hungary held its parliamentary elections, resulting in a victory for the Fidesz-KDNP alliance, with Victor Orbán selected as the country’s Prime Minister. Orbán’s radical platform is not only detrimental to Hungary, but also poses a risk to the stability of the European Union.